Kayleigh McEnany's White House briefing book covers 'ABSURD' to 'WINS' and lots of oddities in between


During White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany's press briefing Thursday, Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst got a shot of her briefing binder, with alphabetized topics on view ranging from "ABSURD" to "WINS."
There were the topics you'd expect and hope to find in a White House briefing book, like COVID and MASKS and CDC, but also some more interesting tabs, like GOYA, MARY (Trump, presumably), (Anthony) FAUCI, STATUES, HATE, LIES, OBAMA, and GOLF. She clearly used some of the tabs on Thursday, like HATCH, in response to a question about the appropriateness of Trump's Rose Garden campaign rally:
And then there were some puzzlers. Does KARL refer to ABC News White House correspondent Jonathan Karl? Karl Rove? Karl Marx? And how about HOGAN. Presumably, that tab was for questions about an op-ed from Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) slamming President Trump's COVID response. But it could also refer to Hogan Gidley, the White House spokesman who now speaks for the Trump campaign, and maybe didn't speak so well in an interview on CNN Thursday afternoon:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
No, it was Larry Hogan.
Make of ABSURD what you will.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The Week Unwrapped: Is it time for a new world map?
Podcast Plus, why is the pope getting flatmates? And why are seagull 'muggings' on the rise?
-
Ford Ranger Plug-in Hybrid: 'more than just a novelty'
The Week Recommends Europe's first plug-in hybrid pickup is 'surprisingly agile'
-
Crossword: August 22, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show